Arrow stayed with Radar at the chopper pad until the sun peaked over the mountains. She wanted to be back in her tent before Hawkeye and BJ woke up. But she wasn't. She was caught by Colonel Potter instead. He'd come up to see why one of his soldiers seemed more nervous than a jumping bean.
Major Burns was long overdue in returning to camp. Radar had already sent in the Daily report saying the man in question was back.
"You've been here all night?"
"He went to the latrine at 0400 hours," Arrow replied. Radar eyed her like a child who'd been tattled on. "What? You were gonna tell him the same thing. I just wanted to get the first word in so no one could ask me what I was doing up here when I should be resting."
Potter acknowledged that Arrow was right. He did indeed intend to ask her what she was doing out all night when she was on her way off the patient roster.
Arrow left after being ordered to her tent. Eyes were on her as the early risers exited their tents, latrines, showers, etc. Everything she had told Hawkeye had spread through the camp by way of the nurses, as it was all in her camp medical record.
She had told Sydney everything. Since his visit wasn't entirely official, he didn't have to write a report on her. At first, doing so didn't seem like a good idea because she felt that what really happened was just for her family. She didn't know that the people with whom she shared a camp, would eventually become that. What really happened would have to go public if only to get the stares and false conclusions to come to an end.
Not even Hawkeye knew the whole story. All he knew was what appeared in the late Colonel Blake's notes and what Arrow had told him.
The mess tent was waiting for her. Arrow grabbed a tray and stepped into the line... As usual, the food was lousy, and the stares were both subtle and obvious.
Still, she remained silent. Everyone thought the worst after half of her story had made its way through the many camps.
Ambulances arrived, preventing the meal now in front of Arrow from passing her lips. Like all the nurses and doctors, she abandoned her tray to scrub up.
Just as Hawkeye had declared all those months ago, Arrow was walking about with no pain. Her papers, however, were still lost. This wasn't a concern of hers at that very moment. Her concern was the operating room and who was going to stand in for Burns. None of the nurses knew how to perform an operation. All they knew was stitches, sponges, and handing instruments to the doctors.
"Did I hear correctly that you and BJ arranged for Major Burns' R&R?" Arrow asked, mentally questioning their motives for being nice to someone that unlikeable.
"It was either that or go bonkers."
"I could see that," she replied, not wanting to push the subject anymore. Arrow didn't want to be distracted from her work. Such a task in itself was difficult when working at the same table as a man who loved the sound of his own voice.
Little did she know, Margaret was going to assign her to the new surgeon's table.
The new surgeon had finally arrived. It was just in time to perform a life-saving operation. He was initially to be a placeholder until headquarters could find someone to replace Frank.
"Charles Emerson Winchester the third," was the prideful introduction he gave to Arrow and Radar who greeted him at the entrance.
"Corporal Walter Eugene O'Reilly, Company Clerk."
"Maxine. But everyone here calls me Arrow. I'll be working your table for the duration of your stay... Winchester... That's a big name in Boston."
"You've heard of us?"
"I've heard of the reputation," Arrow hinted, though it went right over the man's head. "And read your papers in the medical journals my grandfather keeps in his office."
"Might I say, I have heard of you as well..."
"Oh?"
"Yes... your story has spread like wildfire among the patients in Tokyo... You're staring at me, Corporal?" Charles asked, having turned his attention to Radar.
"Oh, no, sir. No, I'm sorry, sir. It's just we don't get too many strangers around here standing up."
"Charming place, isn't it?" Arrow quipped.
"Yes. An inflamed boil on the buttocks of the world..." he sniffed the air as a foul breeze crossed his nasal passage. "What is that odor?"
Arrow suggested it might be the North wind and cesspool or the East wind and latrine.
"The wind is from the south."
"Oh, that's the kitchen," Radar answered.
"Are you the doctor we've been waiting for?" Arrow asked. Charles noted how informal she was.
Had he worked for his rank, he probably would have fought or demanded respect. But it was given to him upon response to his draft notice. Charles came from a family that seemed to demand respect on recognition of his name, Winchester. Only thing was, people knew someone with such a last name, just not from Charles' family.
"That's quite likely."
"Shall I get your bag, sir?" Radar offered. Arrow would have done so herself, but Hawkeye
Charles nodded before asking where he might find the commanding officer.
"I'm gonna go see my dad."
Arrow walked away from her friend only to stop when he said,
"He's in Colonel Potter's office."
Arrow turned around to follow Charles and Radar into the office. Potter, Hawkeye and BJ were all in there enjoying some time off after thirty-six hours of work. Drinks were in each man's hand.
"Sir, this is Major Charles Emerson, uh," Radar said in his attempt to introduce Charles.
"Winchester."
"Right, Winchester."
Introductions went around the room followed by a, "Where you from, Charlie?" from Hawkeye.
"Charles," the man corrected.
"Oh," Hawkeye replied with the hint of sarcasm that said they had another Frank Burns on their hands.
The unit was rather informal as Potter explained to Charles that they get very close. Though Charles didn't intend to stay long enough for that.
Potter read through Charles' papers which gave his education and place of work prior to the draft notice. Harvard Medical and Massachusetts General Hospital.
"What were you doing in Tokyo?" Potter asked.
"Demonstrating new surgical techniques." When told the type of surgery he'd be seeing during his stay, however long it was to be, he mocked his colleagues. "That's rather primitive, isn't it?"
"We've got a ninety-eight percent survival rate, cowboy." Potter replied, voicing the offense he and his doctors felt.
"Do we have to go through this every time there's an offensive slur toward our survival rate," Arrow pointed out.
"I thought you came in here to see your father. Not listen in on the grownups," Charles said. He seemed surprised that she spoke out of turn around her commanding officer. It was unwarranted surprise as he recalled his conversation with her outside.
"I did, Major. He's right there," she said with her arm out in the direction of Hawkeye who had just returned to his seat at Potter's desk.
"What'd you need, Arrow," Hawkeye asked, with a beam of pride in his eyes. The look on Charles' face would have made him laugh.
"I need the usual form signed before more patients come in," she said, hoping he wouldn't advertise to a visiting doctor that he needed to approve her to work every day until she was off the patient roster.
"You mean the one that says..."
"That's the one."
"You remember the deal?"
"I don't need another exam. I just had one last week, and no spells since I got my sight back... you...you got your sight back."
"You remembered throwing up, didn't you?"
"Only because you would have said something if I didn't correct myself."
Margaret came in to let everyone know of their heart patient's urgent condition. The reason for Charles' presence.
"Little Pierce, you'll be working the table," she ordered.
"I can't until a doctor signs the form for approval, Major."
"BJ, you work the table," Potter changed the order. "Arrow will have to sit this one out. Pierce, look at her when Winchester completes the demonstration."
Hawkeye nodded. All the doctor's and Margaret stepped out of the office leaving Arrow behind as Charles told how easy a ventricular aneurism surgery was in his mind.
